Wednesday’s ad is from 1960 for Labatt’s of Canada, which must have been election year there, too. I love Labatt’s little old German brewer persona. I’d vote for that guy. And what a great tagline: “Vote For Mr. Pilsener, The Friend of the People, and leader of the Labatt’s Pilsener Party.” Hilarious. “3 Cheers” indeed.
Tuesday’s ad is for a Spanish beer, Moritz. The Barcelona brewery was founded in 1856 and closed in 1978, but remaining family members started up the brand again a few years ago, contracting the brewing. This ad is from the first half of the last century, and I particularly love the laughing elephant with his mug of beer.
Monday’s ad is for a French beer, presumably from the Lorraine area. I love the giant mugs, showing they offer both kinds of beer, light and dark. And the server must be one of the strongest people in the world, despite looking somewhat frail. Impressive.
Our 35th Guinness poster by John Gilroy features a kangaroo who’s taken the zookeeper’s Guinness and put it in her pouch, replacing it with her Joey in his apron. The tagline is “My Goodness, My Guinness.”
And here’s a second version of the ad in blue. The kangaroo is more detailed and looks friendlier, and there are a few other small differences, but it’s otherwise the same.
Friday’s ad is for Carling Black Label from 1962. “People Like It” appears to be part of a campaign from the time period, using similar layouts. The first has a bowl of corn chips.
The second has a similar layout, but has a bowl of peanuts instead. And both still reference the iconic “mabel, Black Label.”
Thursday’s ad is for Ballantine Ales from 1953. It’s set on a rooftop bowling alley. It reminds me of the book from a few years ago, Bowling Alone, about how society’s more fractured now and has lost its sense of community. The bowlers in the ad certainly look like they’re having a good time.
Biblical Archeology Review has an interesting article in their September/October issue entitled Did the Ancient Israelites Drink Beer?. The author makes some of the same points I’ve often made — but with more authority — that because of mistranslations and bias, beer is mostly absent from the Bible despite the fact that it’s everywhere else in mankind’s early history. The article’s takeaway is a resounding yes, they did drink beer, and lots of it. Not surprising, but great to see that fact getting more scholarly attention.
Wednesday’s ad is for Redhook, when they were still brewing in Seattle, Washington. I’ve always loved the old-time postcard art showing the original brewery on Phinney Avenue. The building now houses a chocolate company and is across the street from Brouwer’s Belgian Cafe.
Tuesday’s ad is for Barclay’s London Lager. I love the simplicity of the ad, with few colors and using a lot of white negative space to great effect.
Monday’s ad is unusual insofar as its for a beer brewed in a village that no longer exists. Adelshoffen used to be in the Lower Rhine region of Germany. The most famous beer they made was Adelscott, which was launched in 1982. Heineken acquired the brewery through Fischer in 1996 and closed the brewery in 2000.
